2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

For Egyptians, content signifies the essential source of entertainment during Ramadan – dominated by television series and brand advertisements. But in 2018, Ramadan did not come alone. Scheduled back-to-back with the World Cup, Egypt was finally going to Russia after 28 years. As both events approached, the nation wondered where the focus would fall. And without notice, Vodafone owned both. By fusing the people's love for series and their admiration for the football, the new stars were introduced in a context never seen before; starring their own series. And the real stars didn't stand and take it.

Background.

Ramadan – the season of Muslim festivities. And television's peak season. This year, Ramadan came accompanied. Not only was the World Cup kicking-off on the last day of the season, but Egypt was finally participating after a 28-year wait. The biggest brief of the year was the brand's blessing. And curse. Vodafone had one simple objective: own both occasions, with a relevant brand message, through one campaign. With a business proposition revolving around community and multiple dedications, a commercial objective was set of surpassing the 2017 revenue benchmark by 4%. But the biggest objective was clear; winning the 2018 Ramadan television race by redefining the entertainment formula, through owning two unrelated occasions, and breaking all communication records.

Describe the creative idea.

The perfect fusion; a simple formula with a complicated background. What did we know about our occasions? Ramadan is about bringing people together. Egyptians across all demographics and psychographics, are football fanatics; especially for the National team. Vodafone is a telecommunications brand that stands for connectivity, empowerment and community. The idea was simple. Fuse both occasions, putting this year's real stars in a never seen before context. Using the Arabic verbatim that literally means 'act' and 'represent,' we introduced the National team football players as this year's Ramadan stars, because 'if they could represent us in Russia, they could represent us anywhere.' But being the brand that stands for community and connectivity, we couldn’t just ignore our original television stars. After a one-on-one encounter, both our stars come together to recognize the true meaning behind both occasions; 'empowering each other to come together.'

Describe the strategy

Football; a national obsession, and Ramadan; the season of togetherness. One event that we failed to reach for 28 years. Two events that will never again coincide for 48 years. While Ramadan is known for being the month of unparalleled entertainment – be it digital, TV advertisements or TV series, this years’ known types of content was at risk of being hijacked by the hype surrounding Egypt’s qualification after a long absence. In the month of togetherness, people's anticipation collided, confused on what to more forward to. Ramadan or the World Cup? With the competitive nature of the television peak period, brands needed to choose sides. But being the brand that stands for connectivity and bringing people together, Vodafone faced a was a unique challenge that led itself to be an opportunity; a first-of-its-kind fusion of occasions. Starring the real stars, and this year's new real stars.

Describe the execution

Days before the season started, Vodafone introduced this year's real stars of Ramadan; the Egyptian National football players - but in a very different context. Hammering on the intense campaigning of the season's television series, Vodafone disrupted the scene by stealing the spotlight from the familiar actors of Ramadan to the footballers. Debuting their appearance through three trailer-like copies, three of the biggest football stars each showcased their acting skills and promoted their new roles, and they had the familiar faces of the supporting actors to help them! Revealed later in the copies, the players starred as an agent, an action star and a mafia leader. But we couldn't silence our real stars. As the season started, Vodafone released a face-off copy between the actors and football stars in the form of an original lighthearted tune sung by both, all supported by nationwide outdoor, digital, and on-ground channeling.

Describe the outcome

After the release of the first copy, unpaid PR coverage on television and digital kicked-off the success. With a population of 100,000,000, the campaign was viewed almost 20% more than the number of people living in Egypt; 120,000,000 times. While engagement surpassed benchmarks with a staggering volume of 2,500,000, earning the most viewed advertisement on TV & Digital spot (Vodafone Media Report). Awareness, reach and recall were unparalleled as the campaign surpassed benchmarks ever reached by Vodafone or competition, by scoring above norms in all attributes in the Brand Measurement Scale (Vodafone July BMS Report). With the objective of surpassing the 2017 revenue generation from a promo record of 4%, Vodafone witnessed a 7% incremental increase within the first two weeks. Engagement rate in promo offer increased incrementally by 3% from 2017, resulting in a 59% engagement rate of total active base. (Vodafone Ramadan Analysis Report).